Has the time come to abolish Black History Month?

“The Negro had no history.”

— Edward Channing

Those acidic words, uttered by

Channing, a famous history professor at Harvard University in 1912, served as a lightning rod for what Americans of all backgrounds today celebrate as African-American History Month.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a black student of Channing’s at the time, countered that widely-

held racist belief by organizing what today is known as the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History. In 1925, Woodson and his group declared the first observance of Negro History Week, timed to encompass the birthdays of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass and venerated U.S. President

Abraham Lincoln in mid-February.

In 1970, members of Black United Students at nearby Kent State University expanded the observance to the full month of February. Six years later during this nation’s proud bicentennial, President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month as an annual national observance.

Today, however, a widening spectrum of Americans argue that Black History Month has run its course and become obsolete. Some whites contend that the observance is little more than reverse racism that singles out the achievements of one race of people at the expense of many others. Some blacks argue that the observance shortchanges the contributions of black Americans by pigeonholing them into one month — and the shortest month at that — of the year. As a result, American history remains segregated during the other 11 months.

To all such critics, we respectfully disagree.

THE UNIQUE BLACK EXPERIENCE

Unlike other ethnic groups in the Melting Pot of America — Italians, Irish, Poles among them — who also struggled tirelessly, endured wicked discrimination and used achievement to battle hatred, the black American experience is unique.

As Philadelphia columnist and radio talk-show host Michael Coard points out in this month’s Philadelphia magazine, “Unlike white ethnics who voluntarily came here with bootstraps to pull up, black folks were kidnapped, shackled and dragged here bootless beginning in 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia, when they were enslaved and forced to toil endlessly to build the colonies and later this country.”

Such institutionalized slavery, then sanctioned discrimination, continued well into the middle of the 20th century throughout the country, even in Youngstown where blacks were forced to settle for second-class seating in the dank upper balconies of the stately Warner, Palace and Paramount theaters downtown.

Even today, remnants of such bias and tension endure. They endure in poverty rates that are three times as high for blacks than whites. They endure in graduation rates and educational achievement in which African-Americans continue to lag. They endure in attitudes, such as those espoused by many recent protesters of police killings who argue black lives still don’t matter to some in power.

Nationally, attitudes among many appear stuck in a time warp. A full 40 percent of white Americans told Gallup Poll researchers in 2013 they believed black-white relations will always be a problem. Sadly, that’s only a 2 percent reduction from the 42 percent who said so in a similar poll in 1964.

Clearly more profound attitude adjustment is needed. It can start by better understanding the rich contributions of African Americans that have benefited all Americans, contributions that for far too long were unapologetically omitted from history books.

As a result, an added focus on black history this month continues to be appropriate. But our schools must also applaud the enriching achievements of black Americans from the Revolutionary War through today year-round. And they should honestly depict the despicable centuries of slavery and second-class citizenship to a proud race of people. If not, the logic of 16th century British philosopher Edmund Burke may again ring true: “Those who don’t know history are doomed to

repeat it.”